I. Background
With the progress of society, building materials have evolved from primitive stone and wood to new composite materials, cement, steel, lime powder, etc. These raw materials play a huge role in various demand applications, from small step platforms to large skyscrapers.
The competition in building materials and other industries is also becoming increasingly fierce. Some unscrupulous merchants counterfeit and pass off inferior products as high-quality ones with strong performance in quality, brand, and performance, causing not only safety hazards for users but also irreparable impact and loss to the manufacturer's product quality reputation.
Counterfeit and shoddy products appear endlessly in the market. At this time, advanced information-based and intelligent management methods and modes become very important.
At present, the information construction of most cement industries is still in a conservative stage, leading to poor information feedback in cement product outbound, transportation, and other links, making it easy to have a series of problems such as management negligence. When problems occur, they cannot be discovered and handled in a timely manner, causing unnecessary losses to the enterprise.
RFID technology can provide information for cement outbound, warehousing, logistics transportation, distribution, product sales, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft in all aspects, providing users with real-time dynamic tracking and query throughout the process; realizing monitoring and management of processing information, system operation status, and business operations, thus solving a series of problems caused by incomplete intelligent information construction. Effectively reduce the management cost of the quality system, increase profits, enhance brand effect, and improve the market competitiveness of the industry.
After decades of development, RFID has been widely used in various industries and is penetrating traditional industries, such as cement product outbound security information processing, transportation information quality safety and anti-counterfeiting. Many enterprises automatically, real-time, and intelligently manage the quality and safety of cement and other products by combining RFID tags with products.
At present, RFID technology has gradually become an indispensable technical and management means for brand cement plants to improve cement quality system management level, reduce management costs, and enhance core competitiveness.
II. Solution Objectives
Based on its years of RFID technology accumulation and unique experience in cement and other RFID projects, combined with the specific requirements of cement companies, Shanghai FineJoin Smart Technology Co., Ltd. proposes a complete solution for cement outbound, transportation logistics, handover product quality safety anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft, with UHF RFID as the technical core, combined with IoT technology, wireless communication technology, handheld terminal technology and other advanced technologies.
The main purpose of this solution is to use the characteristics of RFID technology, such as long-distance fast batch reading and writing, unique identification and anti-counterfeiting, to achieve batch fast sending and receiving of goods and warehouse inventory, real-time batch inspection during transportation, thereby achieving efficient operation, comprehensive protection of product quality and brand safety, realizing one product, one ID, achieving irreplaceable anti-counterfeiting effect.
1. Precise Product Number ID
In view of the current product packaging, number ID anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft responsibility safety issues. The enterprise attaches great importance to product anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft safety. Based on understanding, the following points are analyzed:
> Analysis: Compared with barcode recognition technology, RFID has the advantages of "small size, large capacity, long life, reusable, fast reading and writing, non-visual recognition, mobile recognition, multi-target recognition", and its ID code is globally unique.
2. Strengthen Product ERP Information Accuracy
The information entered in the enterprise ERP inbound and outbound management software corresponds to the RFID tag information, reducing inventory manpower and material resources, reducing the human and financial resources consumed in repeated verification of product information in sales orders, batches, and transportation. Through the global uniqueness of RFID identity, all processes in enterprise operations will be managed according to the RFID tag information, shortening the ERP process, and effectively strengthening the precision of various information such as product specification batches.
According to the actual application, it is proposed to use UHF reader to collect and input RFID card information to ensure the sensitivity and accuracy of RFID information and the precision of anti-counterfeiting information technology.
3. Transportation Anti-counterfeiting and Anti-theft
Because the product packaging information technology is still relatively conservative, it is easy to have negligence in certain links during transportation, resulting in substandard substitutes, passing off inferior products, etc., causing various adverse effects on the enterprise.
It is now required to use RFID tags to solve a series of problems such as unpredictable theft, counterfeit, shoddy, and passing off inferior products during transportation. And the accompanying personnel can well control and manage, and assign responsibility to individuals.
III. System Design
According to the design characteristics of RFID tags, by implementing the cement product outbound, transportation, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft system, analyzing the key elements and key technical processes of cement product outbound, transportation, delivery and other links, a safety information system management based on RFID technology is proposed. The various links such as cement product outbound, transportation, and delivery are organically integrated through RFID technology to achieve information integration that saves manpower, reduces costs, prevents counterfeit and shoddy products, theft, and other integrated information management.
When planning and designing, we must consider real-time and accurate data collection, massive data processing at each node, and concurrent user processing to ensure system stability and accuracy, as well as conflicts with other software. System interface requirements and remote data information communication requirements.
This solution targets the anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft of cement product packaging, using RFID tags for identification management. The specific management functions are shown in the following table:
| Sequence | System Function | Sub-function | PC SERVER Information |
The following is the system operation flow chart:
IV. Solution Operation Process
1. Implant RFID Tag
Select UHF RFID tags and implant them into the interlayer of cement packaging bags during processing.
2. RFID Tag Initialization
A blank RFID tag itself does not represent any thing, so the primary task of the RFID application system is to associate the RFID tag with a unique ID number with each actual piece of goods one by one, binding the tag's ID identity with the goods' identity, so that each piece of goods also has its own unique identity. In subsequent processes, the relevant information of the goods can be obtained by reading the RFID tag information, and the information flow of the entire system can be transmitted through the RFID tag.
In this system, there are two solutions to associate the RFID tag ID with the goods itself:
The following is the software operation process for writing material information into the chip:
3. Outbound Data Collection
After product filling, it is loaded onto the truck via the conveyor belt. The UHF reader installed on the conveyor belt can record all cement numbers in the outbound process, including quantity, batch, product information, etc. Eliminate tedious manual records, reduce errors and time caused by manual records, and improve work efficiency.
Using the unique identity of RFID tags, by affixing, embedding or implanting RFID tags on each packaging, the problem of product identification and tracking can be completely solved during outbound, effectively preventing product batch cross-shipment and substandard substitutes, and well maintaining the authority of brand quality reputation.
Above the product outbound conveyor belt, set up a gantry. Install a UHF data collection reader on the gantry to collect and write data for single or multiple items. The database is saved in PC SERVER.
4. In-transit Inspection
When the transport vehicle is on the road, the accompanying personnel are equipped with a handheld terminal. At each inspection station, the handheld terminal can perform a comprehensive scan and return data information, with responsibility assigned to individuals. If substandard substitutes appear at the next inspection station, the responsible person can be traced in detail.
5. Arrival Confirmation
With the portable RFID handheld terminal, real-time product inspection can be performed anytime and anywhere. Through the powerful radio frequency technology of RFID, multiple RFID tags can be identified at one time, reducing repetitive labor, shortening transportation time, and effectively shortening the delivery cycle.
When delivering, using RFID UHF data collector can grasp product information in real time and eliminate counterfeiting, achieving the expected goal.
The global uniqueness of the RFID tag information number ID ensures the uniqueness of product packaging, making counterfeit packaging impossible. Coupled with the scanning of the RFID terminal carried by the transport personnel, counterfeit products have nowhere to hide, perfectly maintaining the brand image and product quality reputation of the enterprise, effectively improving the core competitiveness of the enterprise.
V. Hardware Equipment Selection
